Welcome, Guest
Please Login or Register. Lost Password?

Expectant/Newborn Dads

General

Page: 1

TOPIC: Would you take 60 days of paid paternity leave?

Forum Tools

Daddy Clay

Would you take 60 days of paid paternity leave? 3 Years, 11 Months ago
We're in Sweden talking with the guys that crafted their paternity leave policy. Which raised the question: if American dads were offered 80% of their salary for 60 days for a paternity leave, would they take it? Well, would you?

Last Edit: 2009/04/16 05:51 By .

The administrator has disabled public write access.

rudegato

Re: Would you take 60 days of paid paternity leave? 3 Years, 11 Months ago
Sweet Baby J!<br><br>YES!!<br><br>As it is we're trying to figure out the savings so i can take an extra week of unpaid leave when the baby comes!<br><br>When I worked at the advertising agency guys actually got 2 weeks of paternity time in addition to whatever vacation time they had saved up.

Last Edit: 2009/04/16 05:51 By .

The administrator has disabled public write access.

david

Re: Would you take 60 days of paid paternity leave?
3 Years, 11 Months ago

I admit that taking the time off sounds fun but it's not like I'd get to lounge around with the baby. I'd have to fix stuff around the house. Plus, if I was home for 2 months, we'd probably pull the kids from daycare to save more cash. And after delivering my wife would be in now shape or mood to run after the kids. Basically I'm lazy and would rather go back to work than take care of three kids and a drained mother for two months (that's what grandmothers are good for). With my first two kids, I took two weeks off and that was about all I could stand personally and professionally.

Last Edit: 2009/04/16 05:51 By .

The administrator has disabled public write access.

concretin_nik

Re: Would you take 60 days of paid paternity leave?
3 Years, 11 Months ago

I can't imagine anyone even considering NOT doing this. MAYBE if you're scraping by paycheck to paycheck as it is, and that 20% cut would be worse than paying for daycare (I seriously doubt it, even then). I am lucky and get 3 weeks paid(also in addition to my regular vacation/sick time)... Yep, it's awesome. But where as that is great, the pay is crap. Ah, the joy of state jobs. I took a week when he was born, and then I was allowed to split the last 2 weeks into 4 weeks after Moms maternity leave ran out and she had to go back to work. (I was doing half days, going in during the evening after the momma got home.) It actually was more beneficial to everyone that way. I was only out of the office 1 week. It was great! Time with your kid is so important. And not just for them. Spending time with him helps keep me sane and shows me that the freak-out-overwhelming feelings I get, a.k.a. Scorpiotic Nuerosis(tm) are absolutely worth it. It adds a sense of purpose to the nerves. And purpose keeps me out of therapy!

Last Edit: 2009/04/16 05:51 By .

The administrator has disabled public write access.

uncle_sutts

Re: Would you take 60 days of paid paternity leave?
3 Years, 11 Months ago

My God of course I would, I have 8 days of vacation time to play with since I have a crappy contract, which isn't squat. Having enough time to do everything on the honey-do list, get a part-time job to make up for the rest and enjoy some time with the new one, who wouldn't? With the economy the way it si though, I might be leary about taking off a whole buncha time, i'm looking at taking 2 or 3 weeks through FMLA unpaid but we'll see if we can float me being off that long. Bri- Bri-

Last Edit: 2009/04/16 05:51 By .

The administrator has disabled public write access.

david_stu

Re: Would you take 60 days of paid paternity leave? 3 Years, 11 Months ago
Question: Are the Swedes better that the US in regards to if you take this time off you are assured your job back. I don't know anyone who this has happened to, but don't the laws here state that you can take time but your current employer only has to have A job for you when you return, not necessarily your previous job.

Last Edit: 2009/04/16 05:51 By .

The administrator has disabled public write access.

Daddy Clay

Re: Would you take 60 days of paid paternity leave?
3 Years, 11 Months ago

Yes, the state sponsored leave requires that the employer hold your job for you. And here's a crazy kicker -- lots of Swedish companies (Baby Bjorn is one) will kick in the extra 20% so you make your WHOLE SALARY on leave. There are caps: there is a max salary they will pay 80% of, so guys making lots of cake may hesitate to take leave. There was lots of concern that companies would discriminate against young guys in hiring, but that hasn't materialized. On top of this there is a 10 day, full pay leave for when the baby is born. Viva socialism!

Last Edit: 2009/04/16 05:51 By .

The administrator has disabled public write access.

daddy_jeremy

Re: Would you take 60 days of paid paternity leave? 3 Years, 11 Months ago
I wouldn't mind a couple of weeks, but I would get crazy if I was stuck in the house for 60 days.

Last Edit: 2009/04/16 05:51 By .

The administrator has disabled public write access.

david2

Re: Would you take 60 days of paid paternity leave? 3 Years, 11 Months ago
Thanks Jeremy, I was beginning to think that I was the only one.

Last Edit: 2009/04/16 05:51 By .

The administrator has disabled public write access.

teddy_m.

Re: Would you take 60 days of paid paternity leave?
3 Years, 11 Months ago

I think I agree with the majority. I'd most definitely take that offer, and I don't know who wouldn't. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is very strongly upheld at my job. We're allowed up to 12 weeks off (unpaid of course), for the birth of a child, adoption, or anything else that is family related. I plan on taking two weeks off; one week will be my paternity leave, and the other will be my paid vacation time, since I have a lot of vacation time saved up. I don't think I'm going to mind at all being at home with my wife and newborn son. I plan on using my paternity leave for just that; being a dad. Plus, I won't really be stuck in the house. When the baby's down for his nap or something, then I'm sure my wife wouldn't mind me taking a ride on the motorcycle or something. I plan on giving her breaks too so that she can rest up.

Last Edit: 2009/04/16 05:51 By .

The administrator has disabled public write access.

Daddy Clay

Re: Would you take 60 days of paid paternity leave?
3 Years, 11 Months ago

In 60 solid days, you get to know every aspect of how the whole baby op works. You're not just the semi-clueless reliever coming in from the bullpen, you're fully in the rotation. The whole tone and style of my fatherhood was set when I stayed home for the first six months with my oldest. I had just finished grad school, took a little writing fellowship and did the SAHD thing. Wouldn't trade it for the moon and stars now. Big part of what led to DadLabs.

Last Edit: 2009/04/16 05:51 By .

The administrator has disabled public write access.

robmonroe

Re: Would you take 60 days of paid paternity leave?
3 Years, 11 Months ago

Wait - 60 calendar days or 60 work days? (eight weeks versus 12) I would have loved more time at home last summer. I was allowed to use banked sick time, but was only gifted with two days free. We get three for the death of a relative. Blows. My. Mind. A person just born takes a lot more work than one just dead. I don't know that we would have been able to afford the whole time at the reduced salary, but I work for the church. It's hard to make everything work at 100% sometimes!

Last Edit: 2009/04/16 05:51 By .

The administrator has disabled public write access.

nathaniel_gonzalez

Re: Would you take 60 days of paid paternity leave?
3 Years, 11 Months ago

Hi, I'm from Puerto Rico and at my current job we don't get a paternity leave. I'm thinking I will take one week off and because I'm a programmer convince my boss to let me work at home for two weeks. The process of programming can be done a few minutes at a time and I hope that I will be able to get some work a little and enjoy my kids even more. 60 days might be a little to much, I'm going to be a new dad so I can't really say. I will let you know what is my experience.

Last Edit: 2009/04/16 05:51 By .

The administrator has disabled public write access.

benny

Re: Would you take 60 days of paid paternity leave? 3 Years, 11 Months ago
Oh hell yes!!!

Last Edit: 2009/04/16 05:51 By .

The administrator has disabled public write access.

Daddy Clay

Re: Would you take 60 days of paid paternity leave? 3 Years, 11 Months ago
Just back from covering paternity leave in Sweded, and get hit with depressing Wall Street Journal article about companies downsizing family leave benefits. sigh<br><br>(The link may not work because the ink-stained Luddites at WSJ haven't caught on that web content should be free.)

Last Edit: 2009/04/16 05:51 By .

The administrator has disabled public write access.

poserdad

Re: Would you take 60 days of paid paternity leave? 3 Years, 11 Months ago
Heck ya!!!

Last Edit: 2009/04/16 05:51 By .

The administrator has disabled public write access.

Daddy Clay

Re: Would you take 60 days of paid paternity leave? 3 Years, 10 Months ago
This week the videos posting up are on the site are all about family leave. The Lab is the first of several episodes that we will be posting that were shot during our recent trip to Sweden. I'd love to get a sense of how much leave the average DadLabs dad takes, so let me know: How much leave did you take?

Last Edit: 2009/04/16 05:51 By .

The administrator has disabled public write access.

uncle_sutts

Re: Would you take 60 days of paid paternity leave?
3 Years, 10 Months ago

This on'e touchy with us, we were'nt in the strongest financial position when we learned when she was preggo and we've made some interesting, not so much sane yet interesting financial choices. I'm eyeballing three weeks, one of them paid, if all goes well. I know the company I work for profited 327 million last quarter, so it's well beyond their means to flip for a couple of weeks, but hey, it's America! Seriously, it looks like about 2-3 weeks depending. Bri-

Last Edit: 2009/04/16 05:51 By .

The administrator has disabled public write access.

newmom

Re: Would you take 60 days of paid paternity leave? 3 Years, 10 Months ago
With my first I took the 2 weeks, I think I only took 1 with the second. Basically my boss wanted me to come back .

Last Edit: 2009/04/16 05:51 By .

The administrator has disabled public write access.

mike1

Re: Would you take 60 days of paid paternity leave? 3 Years, 10 Months ago
I'm taking a 2 week vacation starting from the day my son is born. I actually would enjoy even more, but I want to save a few days for taking the whole family somewhere later this year (I only get 2 weeks vacation a year, but I have some rolled over). Since my wife quit work part way through the pregnancy to become a SAHM, I don't really want to use unpaid days right now.